AHAN - Aik Hunar Aik Nagar

• Conducted a training workshop of 10 entrepreneurs at Beacon House National University with collaboration of Ruby Jewelers and Bahawalpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• The objective of this project was to introduce modernize version of traditionally made silver jewelry in Kundan.

2) Hand Embroidery Workshop (Rizwan Beyg Pilot Project):

This pilot was initiated with the partnership of 1)Cholistan Development Council, 2)Punjab Small Industries Corporation and 3)Bahawalpur Rural Development Project with the Assistance of famous designer “Rizwan Beyg” from Karachi who was already manufacturing his hand embroidery line in Bahawalpur. The idea of this project was to prepare master trainers during the workshop who came from Cholistan and give them vision of quality measures required by the designer collection across the country. 13 types of basic and complex embroidery stitches were taught during the training workshop.

NRSP Bahawalpur is the partner organization. 600 weavers of handloom have been identified. Batch of 50 weavers per month is taking training on newly introduced 8 paddle and jacquard handlooms. After the completion of one month training, each weaver is taking one handloom from NRSP on installment of Rs. 500 per month. AHAN has linked NRSP weaving facility with Bareez’e brand and first order is in pipeline. Designs are also given by AHAN designer’s team. AHAN is taking care of all designing, training staff and daily allowance of trainee’s expenses for one year. Beside this assistance, AHAN is also assisting in taking orders from the market. NRSP is opening its outlet in Bahawalpur and will offer stitched garments, AHAN has provided patterns for these garments.

This pilot is initiated with Cholistan Development Council. Mithra is located in Tehsil Yazman, District Bahawalpur and it is Cholistan area. We are replicating the Rizwan Beyg Pilot Project here with the training of 13 types of embroidery stitches. 30 trainees are participating in this project from Chak # 19 DRB, Mithra. We are utilizing two master trainers (belong to Mithra) who got training in February 2007 during Rizwan Beyg Pilot. At the end of one month training we are giving one design to each participant (similar to Leisure Club Party line brand) to produce a Kurti and complete the embellishment on it. The kurtis will be sold in the market with the help of AHAN staff and margin will be transferred to each participant. Sale activity will be conducted by Cholistan Development Council.

This project is initiated with the help of All Pakistan Handloom Association in the surrounding area of Multan called Samejabad, Initially five following product have been selected for the interventions: Floor Rugs, Table Mats/Accessories, Cushion Covers, Bed Covers, and Chic Fabric
AHAN will provide new latest/modern designs of each item on quarterly basis to the manufacturers. These designs will be developed by the professional designers of fashion schools/individual designers.
Gultex, a market leader among Multan handloom manufacturers and running its operations nearly 90% for exports, having 100% in-house facilities from weaving to dyeing and bleaching will be involved in this activity. Gultex will help the local manufacturers in dyeing and bleaching services.
Gultex also have retail outlets in Multan, so the retails facilities of Gultex will be used for displaying of products made by manufacturers on the basis of designs provided by AHAN.
AHAN will also help the manufacturers in product development.
Gultex will charge nominal profit margin from the manufacturers for displaying their products. (This is subject to the quality of products offered to Gultex).
In return AHAN will also provide new designs to Gultex for improving their product lines (for local outlets).
AHAN will also arrange small exhibition of the manufactured products in all big cities on regular basis.
AHAN will start a massive promotional campaign for Handloom Products. The basic aim of this promotional campaign will be to highlight the artistic creation of traditional handloom products with the modern elegance.
We have formed a group of 11 manufacturers who are representing 140 weavers.
After producing new designs according to the market trends, AHAN will assist 11 (eleven) groups of manufacturers (representing 140 weavers) in obtaining orders from different brands working in the country.
Each group of 11 leaders will sell his product and will reinvest in the next lot of samples and this will go on till the 8th month of the project (end date of project).
AHAN will set up a display at Handloom association office to make impressive presentation for the potential buyers, who will visit to place orders at Samejabad weavers.
The cost of sampling of each collection after every two months or three month will be borne by weavers at 25% and AHAN will contribute 75%. After selling each collection the cost will be reinvested for next collection which will be prepared with the AHAN designer’s team. This method will be continuously followed by the group of 11 leaders until they find new orders from the market (retailers and exporters). This group will be a model in the cluster. AHAN will replicate the model in other areas of Multan.

This project has been initiated with the partnership of Kaarvan Crafts Foundation. The area of intervention is Kahna & Sooha Asil located on Lahore-Kasur road.

Target Group:
Direct 50 women entrepreneurs in the villages of Kahna and Sooha Ahsil
Indirect: 200 women entrepreneurs living in Gujranwala, Faisalabad, and Haripur (women attached with Kaarvan).

Training on Pattern Making, Screen Printing:
This training will significantly enhance the market potential of apparel and accessories. Currently, all embellishment work is being done on plain colored fabric as there is no assurance of supply and availability in the printed fabric. However, the customers trends are leaning towards printed fabric as well and entrepreneurs are losing out on such customers. Thus, once the 50 entrepreneurs are able to develop screen printed fabric, the apparel and accessories will appeal to greater number of customers and enhance orders and sales.

Training on Tie & Dye/Block Printing:
Similar to tie and die this training will significantly increase the market potential of apparel and accessories as tie and dye and block printed fabric will offer an alternative to plain colored fabric and offer greater choice to customers.
AHAN will bear the cost of all trainers and trainees plus the cost of raw material to be needed during the six months training. AHAN will also assist in designing part.

Lacquer work was always famous and recognized in the history. Indo-Pak continent is well known this art. It originated from a Mughal family in Moza Jalalabad tehsil Kethel District Kernal (India) in 1710. The said place was also the center for the commencement/introduction of Handicraft Art in Indo-Pak continent.
Manufacturing of lacquer work is a delicate process which starts with raw wooden pieces like show plates and small boxes. The wooden piece is polished and then painted with lacquer in layers of different colors, coated completely on each other (usually in three or four colors), for example first blue color is coated then yellow color on blue and red on yellow. The last color which can be seen on the wooden piece is red, which was coated in the last. A worker removes the last color of red in a way that the second coated color (yellow) becomes visible with a design on it which can be obtained during blade scratching skill and if blue color is required to be visible in design then it is again scratched by blade and the first coated color of blue becomes visible. It is the skill of blade scratching which makes beautiful designs on wooden pieces.

AHAN will support in Training 80 skilled workers to enhance productivity. (For 3 months, August-October 2007) 6 group leaders will share the cost of training for the 3rd month.

1) Mud Pottery, Tehi, District Chakwal:

Nearly 400 people are involved in making mud pottery at village “Tehi” situated in Tehsil Talagang, district Chakwal. The workers are very much satisfied with the current orders and their marketing efforts made by the middleman who also belong to the same village Tehi but they are facing some problems in production such as drying their products after shaping it and cooking it in the fire. The community is in need of some facilities like mud analysis, temperature control system in Kiln (oven) and they need common Ball Mill (to grind mud).
We are working on this project to finalize it in June 2007.

Bhaun village is located 15 KM away from Chakwal city. “Suffah” Trust Foundation has established a stitching center in Bhaun village with the facilities of 20 stitching machines and they have trained around 100 women in cutting and stitching in baby garment. They need to upgrade the center facilities and need to work in getting orders in order to engage their workers in stitching in order to increase their income level.

AHAN team has visited the center and has decided to facilitate with the expert cutting and stitching master to enhance the existing skills. AHAN will provide some designs in baby garments to the center and let the women stitch garments and then supply them to the local market of Chakwal.

AHAN is working on this project and the survey of local market (Chakwal City) has not been completed yet.

13 Types of Hand embroidery stitches will be taught in 4 BRDP hand embroidery centers. This project is the outcome of Rizwan Beyg Pilot project which was conducted in February 2007. Demand of Hand embroidered apparel is increasing in the market and Rizwan Beyg is ordering in four other arrears of Bahawalpur where we need to increase the strength of each team located in Ahmad Pur East, Khairpur Tammaywali, Sandan and Hasilpur.

The demand for initiating these four pilots from Rizwan Beyg and the community shows the success of Pilot which was completed in February 2007. AHAN will increase the strength of skill women and at the same time we are working on marketing this skill in Lahore.